


Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

by xol (firetruck)



Series: Local Book Club Ruins Everything [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Lotto (Music Video), Crack and Angst, Gang AU, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-11-21 18:24:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11363073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firetruck/pseuds/xol
Summary: Nothing says 'bonding' like getting drunk and reliving each other's traumatic pasts.





	1. double dealer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baekhyun hates his dad and no one is surprised.

“Wait, what do you mean Zitao wasn’t just some fungus Minseok tracked in on his shoe? Are you telling me he didn’t just root himself in the house and grow slowly every day to be the biggest pain in everyone’s asses?” Baekhyun teases mercilessly, soju spilling from his cup as he swings it around. 

Morale is high as everyone laughs, table filled end to end with food and drinks. Minseok had declared a celebration after the successful end of their latest deal, and everyone was still hopped up on adrenaline (and alcohol). 

“Fuck you, Baekhyun,” Zitao snaps, getting ready to lunge across the table. “In terms of gang seniority, I’m a higher rank than you!”

“He’s right,” Jongdae laughs as Baekhyun pouts. 

“How do we know _you’re_ not the parasite here?” Zitao wags his finger accusingly and Kyungsoo cuts him off. 

“He is. I had the chance to kill him ages ago, I didn’t, and it remains one of my biggest regrets,” He sighs. 

“Minseok loves me too much to have me executed,” Baekhyun sniffs, head held high. 

“I didn’t ask to be involved,” Minseok deadpans, reaching for another shot. “I want out of this conversation.”

“Neither of you two are freeloaders,” Junmyeon says. “Everyone here has a story.”

“Yeah, Minseok kind of blew up my casino and my only friend at the time, so…” Baekhyun shrugs, tipping his head back for another drink. “You know what they say! It was love at first sight. Ever since he killed all my employees, I was smitten.”

Chanyeol’s jaw swings open. Luhan frowns.

“Story time, story time, story time…” Jongdae begins to chant slowly, pounding his fists on the table. 

“Someone stop him,” Yifan calls out, but his voice is drowned out once Chanyeol, Sehun, and Jongin join in with chanting. 

“We’re gonna need a hell of a lot more drinks if this is gonna happen,” Minseok eventually says, and Jongdae cheers loudly. 

“Everyone’s cool if I indulge a little, right?” Yixing pipes up as Kyungsoo gets out of his chair for more drinks. 

“…Your bong is in the kitchen,” Junmyeon sighs. “I’d rather have you do it here than at some shady club anyways.”

“You put a fucking bong in my kitchen?” Kyungsoo throws a cushion at Junmyeon before stalking off. “Unbelievable.” 

 

* * *

 

“Hey boss, slot machine on aisle three is down.”

“First of all, don’t call me boss,” Baekhyun huffs. “It’s too obvious. _You’re_ supposed to be the boss, remember? Second, what did I say about approaching me in the bathroom? It’s shady.” He crosses his arms. “Go slap an ‘out of order’ on the machine.” 

“You got it, boss.” 

“Oh my god,” Baekhyun groans. “Now you’re just fucking with me.”

 

 

 

 

 

“If it isn’t my main man D.O!” Baekhyun grins, clapping a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Back again for more poker, huh?”

“I am not your ‘ main man’,” Kyungsoo says, hiding his cards reflexively.

“Is that straight vodka?” Baekhyun taps the clear liquid in Kyungsoo’s glass. “I like your style.”

“It is not vodka.” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. There’s no room to get drunk on the job. 

“Oh. Is it water, then?” 

“It’s vinegar,” he snips. 

“You’re fucking hilarious,” Baekhyun laughs before nodding at the other players. “Gentlemen. Have fun.” 

Kyungsoo glares at Baekhyun’s back as he saunters away, feeling the edge of his cards dig into his hand. 

“All in.” 

“You’re crazy, D.O!” 

He places his cards down, face up, and everyone groans, curses spilling out as they throw their own cards down, leaving the table. Kyungsoo speaks quietly into his earpiece once they’re all out of earshot. 

“Permission to dispose of one Byun Baekhyun.” 

A sigh crackles through the line. 

“Kyungsoo, I said no civilian casualties,” Minseok reminds him. 

“He is a pain in my ass. You heard that exchange. That shit’s been going on for months now.” 

“He may be a pain in your ass, but he’s still a civilian.”

“Fine. But you’d better let Jongdae know if he doesn’t confirm the date soon, I’m going to confirm his expiration date the second I get back.”

“No need,” Jongdae laughs, taking the mic from Minseok. “I’m right here. Connecting us to Sehun and Junmyeon.” 

“I hate five-ways.” 

“Name of your sex tape,” Jongdae quips. “You two there?” 

A couple tables away, Sehun shuffles all the cards as he waits for more players to arrive. Junmyeon doesn’t glance up from behind the bar, polishing a couple of glasses with a cloth. 

“What’s this about Kyungsoo’s sex tape?” Sehun says, the grin in his voice audible. 

“Not appropriate for work,” Junmyeon mutters. “Jongdae, tell us you have some good news?” 

“Why the exasperation? I thought you loved making drinks.” 

“Not for bozos, and not for eight months. Hey, are you calling me an alcoholic?”

“No. You alcoholic.” 

“No one says bozo anymore,” Sehun snorts. 

“Don’t worry, guys,” Minseok speaks up, having regained control of the microphone. “It’s happening next week. You’ll find the details behind the TVs in each of your places. Burn those words into your memory, and then burn the papers.”

“Yixing has been making some pretty cool weapons,” Jongdae says. 

“That doesn’t mean anything to us,” Kyungsoo frowns. “We already have all our gear.” 

“Oh, I know. I was just trying to give you guys FOMO.” 

“What does that mean?” Junmyeon asks. 

“It means Jongdae is an idiot.” 

“Thank you, Kyungsoo. Alright, just… keep up the good work, everyone. We’ll be in touch,” Minseok says. “See you soon.”

 

 

 

 

_“Dinner is ready, angel!”_

_Baekhyun hides his marbles and jacks in the bushes as he wipes his hands on his pants and runs back inside, climbing into his chair at the table. His mom fixes his hair absentmindedly as she passes by._

_“Is dad gonna be here?”_

_“Not tonight, angel,” she says quietly, frowning a bit._

_“Is he being bad again?”_

_“Eat your mac and cheese, Baekhyun,” she says sternly. “No more questions.”_

_“Why aren’t you eating?”_

_“…Mommy’s not hungry, angel.”_

_“You have to eat, mom.” Baekhyun lifts his spoon towards his mother, mac and cheese heaped up on it. She smiles and takes the spoon as her stomach growls, almost rejecting the first bite of food in days._

_“Thank you, angel.”_

 

_It doesn’t take long for Baekhyun to realize the truth. The truth that his mother hadn’t eaten in days because she gave everything to him, and that this was because his father had gone and lost all their money in a betting pool again. The truth that every night his father wasn’t home he was out gambling and drinking before he would eventually stumble back home with empty promises of winning the money back._

_Sometimes he resents his mother for being weak and letting his deadbeat dad back into the house, doing his laundry by hand, and putting up with all his shit. He wishes she would be selfish for once, wishes she would’ve left him. But she never did, and he hates her because of it._

_But despite everything, he resents himself the most. For not being strong enough, for being such a kid, for not understanding her reasons until much, much later, because Baekhyun’s mother is the strongest person he knows. And in a way, maybe she was being selfish all along. All those times she stayed in that rundown neighborhood because that’s where Baekhyun’s friends were, all those times she cleaned up after his dad and convinced him to spend some time with his son, all those times she refused anything for herself because she wanted Baekhyun to have it all._

_All those times she gave up her own happiness to protect him. Maybe it was the right thing to do, and Baekhyun was just too stupid to see it._

 

_“Will you sing me a song, angel?”_

_“Yeah! What should I sing?”_

_“Anything you want.”_

_“Mom?”_

_“Yes?”_

_“I love you!”_

_“I love you too, my angel.”_

 

_And sitting in a broken chair, cards splayed out in front of him and poker chips spilling into the center of the table, smelling like cheap beer and surrounded by people just like his dad, Baekhyun has never hated himself more._

_But there_ is _one thing that’s different about him._

_He intends to make good on his promises._

 

 

 

 

_Unfortunately, all the talent and sleight of hand couldn’t have prepared him for what happened that night._

_It started the same. The light hanging by a string from the ceiling flickering every third second, the table stained with cheap booze, and him, on the fast track to winning a round for the third time in a row._

_Five bottles later, he had won just shy of a million dollars._

_“Looks like I win again, gentlemen,” Baekhyun grins, pocketing a handful of bills. “Better luck next time.”_

_Everyone grumbles, discarding their cards and standing up, knocking their chairs down in the process. One of them glares at Baekhyun._

_“Luck? I don’t fucking think so. I been watching you all night, and you’re a damn cheater. You been playing us all!”_

_“Now, now, let’s not throw around accusations,” Baekhyun says, licking his lips nervously. “Don’t be a sore loser.”_

_“How come we never win? You really think that’s possible? Either you cheatin’ or I don’t know how to play, and it sure as hell ain’t the second one ‘cause I know how to play.”_

_Murmurs of agreement spread and the knife tucked in Baekhyun’s belt suddenly feels ten times heavier. He flexes his fingers and clenches his teeth._

_“You’ve had too much to drink,” he laughs. “Go home and sleep it off, buddy.”_

_“We’re not your buddies, Byun.” He reaches for the gun on his hip and Baekhyun flips the table, grabbing one of the more inebriated men as a shield._

One. Two. Three.

_He’s shot immediately and Baekhyun curses, throwing him at another man. They collapse into the racks on the wall, knocked out, and Baekhyun quickly surveys the room. Three more left._

Four. Five. Six. 

_He throws his knife at one of them and grabs the gun off of the hip of the ones on the floor._

Seven.

_He’s never shot a gun in his life, and his bullet grazes the shoulder of one of the men, sending him stumbling back into the wall. The man who accused him (correctly) of cheating walks forward, gun aimed right at his head._

_“I win this time, Byun.”_

_He shoots, and nothing comes out. Baekhyun stands up with a grin._

_“Someone’s not counting their bullets.”_

_He shoots, sending a bullet directly into his head._

_“Shit.”_

_Baekhyun drops the gun, running over to the overturned table and stuffing as many bills into his clothes as possible. Before he leaves, his eyes wander over to the dead body, pupils shaking as he zeros in on a marking under the sleeve. He walks over for a better look and almost wishes he didn’t._

_It’s a tattoo. But not just any tattoo. His face pales as he recognizes the pattern—he’s just killed a member of a local gang, and it was just a matter of time before they went after him._

_“Fuck!”_

 

* * *

 

“Hold on, hold on. Was this the first person you ever killed?” Sehun asks. 

“The more important question is, why the fuck did you leave your prints all over the crime scene? The knife, the gun…” Kyungsoo frowns. “You can’t be that stupid.”

“Ha! Jokes on you, Soo, I had my fingerprints burned off the previous year!” Baekhyun crows proudly. 

“So we’re just supposed to believe you took out like, five gang members by yourself,” Jongdae says skeptically. “You sure you’re not embellishing?” 

“I only killed _one_ of them. The other one wasn’t my fault, and everyone else got out with injuries only. What can I say? I’m skilled.”

“Were they all drunk as fuck?” 

“..Yeah, they were.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope this formatting makes sense lol. not everyone has only one chapter, i've decided to split some up into multiple ones. sorry for the wait! T___T more to come soon (hopefully)~


	2. double dealer 2.0

“That’s impossible.” Baekhyun reaches across the table, frantically checking all the cards. “How did you do that?” 

Minseok shrugs, swirling whisky around in a crystal glass. He’s hardly paying attention to Baekhyun, who had approached him for a card game earlier. Tao stands behind him, glaring at Baekhyun.

“One more round,” Baekhyun pleads, ignoring the scary bodyguard. 

The watch on Minseok’s wrist buzzes once, and he uncrosses his legs. 

“Sorry,” he says. “Don’t have time.” 

“Please,” Baekhyun begs, voice rising. “There’s no way you could’ve won that when I—“ He bites his tongue quickly before he could say, _I rigged it_. 

“You should leave now,” Minseok suggests, setting his drink down. He glances behind the bar, where Junmyeon is nowhere to be seen.

“No way, not until you play another game with me.” 

“I have no more business with you,” Minseok says calmly, “Unless you’re the boss of this place.” 

He stands up, adjusting his suit and tie. Tao leans over and whispers something in his ear before they both begin walking towards the back of the casino. Baekhyun leaps out of his seat, almost knocking the table over, and calls out to Minseok. 

“Wait! Hey—You, what’s your name? If you’re looking for the boss, he’s right here!” 

Minseok turns around, an eyebrow raised. 

“Oh?” He says amused. “And you are…” 

“Byun Baekhyun, the real owner. The other guy is just a front. I swear! Now will you play?”

“You’re not joking.” Minseok’s voice lowers, taking in Baekhyun’s completed serious expression. 

“Why would I?” 

Something explodes in the back room, and the entire casino shakes, light fixtures bursting as shouts and gunfire ring through the air. Baekhyun jumps and notices the casino is suddenly devoid of his usual customers—the only people left on the floor are him, Minseok, and Tao. 

“Tao, help the others. I’ll deal with this,” Minseok grits through his teeth. 

“Should’ve given Kyungsoo permission,” Tao shrugs, slipping a gun into Minseok’s hand before walking off. 

“Uh….are you..are you going to kill me?” Baekhyun holds his hands up. “Look, I just wanted to play against you!” 

“Depends on what you say,” Minseok presses his lips together in a thin line. He grabs Baekhyun’s wrist and tugs him behind the bar, where they crouch down and Minseok cocks the gun, aiming it point blank at him. “Do you have any idea what your men have been doing?” 

Baekhyun shakes his head, swallowing thickly. 

“Drugs and human trafficking,” Minseok spits, parting his lips in a grin that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“…What?!” 

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Minseok taps the barrel of the gun against Baekhyun’s forehead. “I won’t be tricked again, Byun Baekhyun, so you’d better confess everything right now.” 

Cold sweat slides down Baekhyun’s back as Minseok’s sharp eyes bore into his. 

“I swear, I don’t know anything. I just like to gamble and play cards, okay? I’m just trying to make money here, I don’t want any trouble!”

“Too late,” Minseok says. “The trouble’s come to you.” 

He pulls the trigger and Baekhyun falls backwards with a scream. 

“Stop screaming,” Minseok snaps. 

Baekhyun stops, realizing that he’s not bleeding anything. He does a quick pat-down of himself and discovers no wounds. 

“…You didn’t shoot me?” 

“No, I shot the boss.” Minseok gestures behind him.

Baekhyun turns around and almost screams again. 

“Oh my god, you shot Tae! Is he dead?” 

“Yes,” Minseok tucks his gun into his jacket. “I don’t miss.” 

They walk out from behind the bar, where Kyungsoo, Sehun, Junmyeon, and Tao are waiting. 

“You almost let him get away,” Minseok frowns. 

“We knew you’d catch him,” Sehun says before Kyungsoo flicks him in the shoulder.

“Why is he still alive?” Tao asks, gesturing to Baekhyun. 

“Oh, it’s D.O.!” Baekhyun waves at Kyungsoo, who keeps his hands on a mysterious black bag. 

“It’s Kyungsoo, actually.” 

Junmyeon’s phone rings once and he stands up, grabbing a couple bags himself.

“They’re waiting for us outside. Are you ready?” 

Minseok surveys the demolished casino, turning to Baekhyun as his expression softens just a bit. 

“Sorry about your casino, Baekhyun.”

“You can make it up to me.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Whatever this is,” Baekhyun gestures at Minseok and the others, “I want in. And I also want to know your name, and if you’d play another game with me sometime.” 

“No. Way.” Kyungsoo interjects, standing up. “Minseok, permission to dispose of one Byun Baekhyun. Again.”

“No civilian casualties, Kyungsoo.” 

“He’s obviously not a civilian! So can I kill him or not?” 

“No member casualties either,” Minseok says, looking intently at Baekhyun. 

Kyungsoo grabs a bag, leaving with a horrible expression set on his face, and Tao chuckles, tossing a bag at Baekhyun. 

“We’ll be watching you, cheater.” 

 

* * *

 

“Remember how _mad_ Kyungsoo was?” Jongdae laughs. “I seriously didn’t think Baekhyun would make it through the first week.” 

“Why were you so upset anyways, Kyungsoo?” Yixing asks, smoke curling around his face. Yifan coughs and waves it away. 

“Probably because I actually worked hard to get in and all Baekhyun did was bat his eyelashes and play dumb,” Kyungsoo shrugs. 

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Baekhyun pouts. “I probably got the most shit out of everyone here! Do you have any idea how hard it was to fit in and get closer to you guys? I had to walk around the house naked for two months!”

“No one asked you to do that,” Junmyeon reminds him. 

“Yeah, but it worked, didn’t it?!” 


End file.
